Threading Together the Strings
by PaChA mAmA
Summary: Two years is a long time for someone to be dead but good thing the Council has two heroes to count on. Hopefully they can stop the Collectors before they kill off humanity. Sequel to "In Another String Universe". Tell me what you think.
1. Chapter 1

Good idea to read "In Another String Universe" before this. Hope ya'll like it.

Yes, Shepard died a month after the Citadel.

* * *

_Two years after the Battle of the Citadel_

_Klencory..._

Council Spectre Dr. Beatrice Alenko stared at the datapad in front of her re-reading the intel that had come in from one of her many sources. After the death of her fellow human Spectre she had done all she could find out where the Reapers had come from and if their use of Saren and his geth were a one time deal. So far the data was telling her that the Collectors were becoming involved with the Reapers.

The colonies were outside council space, humans dissatisfied with the Alliance. It happened every time there was a major freeing of space.

One of her sources, a bio-tech named Wilson working for project labeled "Lazarus" had confirmed to her a year and a half ago that Liara had given Shepard's body to Cerberus to rebuild. It was hell keeping that secret away from Kaidan and the crew that had once made up the team from the _Normandy. _Did the program director of the Lazarus Project know of Wilson's spying? She highly doubted it but now that Shepard well enough for her plan to go forward he needed to be away from Cerberus' control.

Wilson would have no more contact with her after he was done hacking the mechs that protected the station Shepard was on. The attacks were getting closer together and she couldn't do it on her own. Shepard was needed to go on another front. If the Illusive Man held true to his normal behavioral patterns he would try to gain Shepard's loyalty. Joker was already inside Cerberus ready for his call to action as was Chakwas. Those two crew members were the only ones in the Alliance that Kaidan influenced to join Cerberus. Until she had confirmation that Shepard was going towards one of his team members from one of her moles she was stuck waiting.

The door to her office opened and one of her assistants, a young asari named Gioda, came in with a datapad. This was a part of her daily routine here on Klencory. Every day after the last excavation shift for the day was done a report was given to her to comb over the day's find. Gioda, and her twin Marisku, were irreplaceable as her assistants.

"Dr. Alenko?" Gioda smiled at the woman. "I have the latest findings for the second tier analysis."

"Excellent."

Gioda handed her the datapad and took her usual seat in the plush chair across from her desk. Bea looked over the bullet point list from the linguistics team. Since the unsealing of the Klencory Tower the amount of information that came to light was amazing. She compared it to Pompeii in the complexity of the discoveries. There were no bodies frozen in ash but the amount of items was amazing.

The nearest habitable planet from Klencory, Ontarum, held the sprawling facility that housed the team members that were on leave and their families if they chose to stay nearby. The Council had extended the rights to the two planets to Kumun Shol by way of Bea's Spectre status for their research. They would not interfere in their jobs but they would expect to be notified if there was something they could use against their far off threat.

"Karaoke night is this week," Gioda broke the silence that hung in the air. "Will you be joining us?"

Bea looked up from her report and thought for a moment. "I do have that day off, don't I?" she smiled. "You just want me to get drunk and sing horrible songs from Earth's twentieth century."

"You singing 'Killer Queen' was pretty-"

"Terrible?" she finished her assistant's sentence. Her personal terminal beeped at in incoming burst and she palmed it. The orange text appeared and she smirked at the tiny message. "I'm afraid that I won't be able to make it this time."

She handed Gioda the datapad from linguistics.

The young asari eyed the terminal and nodded. "You've been Called? I'll contact Captain Hemmins to prepare _The Raven_."

"Thank you."

Gioda stood and left the office leaving Bea to prep for her departure. With a practiced ease Bea closed every program running on her terminal and locked her office behind her. The route to her quarters was short and she changed from her uniform to the plain clothes she wore outside of the complex and the station. Grabbing the small silver hard case she kept most of her Spectre gear in she enabled her apartment's defenses and started for the docking bay where her ship was being held.

A gruff looking man, the ship's captain met her at the docks. He smirked as the sight of the hard case. "Secret Agent time again?"

"Research and recon with a dash of rescue." she replied cheerfully. They let the airlock seal behind them and he turned towards the bridge.

"It's a recipe for action." he replied with a grin. "Where to?"

"Omega."

"You pick the loveliest places."

Bea shrugged. "When we exit FTL set up a call to the _Kilimanjaro_."

"Aye, aye."

* * *

"It's been two years." Kaidan's voice registered the obvious shock that the news of his once dead commander waking from the grave would instill. "And he's working with Cerberus! Bea are you sure?"

Bea nodded. "Yes, Council intel was clear on that, Kaidan. The Illusive Man always has an angle. He's trying to draw someone or something out I just don't know what. I'm heading Omega to find out what I can and help an old friend of yours."

Kaidan frowned. "Who?"

"Garrus' vigilante justice is catching up to him. I'm going to pull him out of the fire before he gets himself killed." Bea answered and looked off screen for a moment.

"You're docking at Omega now, aren't you." Kaidan's frowned turned to a bemused smile. "You wouldn't be telling me this unless you were already too far away for me to tell you to turn around."

"You know me too well, darling." she replied sweetly. "I'll contact you when I'm done here."

"You better." he smirked. "I love you."

"I love you too." she deactivated the comm and spun her chair around to get ready for docking.

The ship she was on, _The Raven_, was a small asari frigate that looked slightly beat on was actually surprisingly fast and sturdy compared to her, newer, larger counterparts. If the pirates of the Terminus systems wished to try and take her they were quickly brought to task.

"Will you be wearing your usual armor?" Hemmins, the ship's captain, asked as she made her way to her cabin. He had served with her for over a year and was getting to know her strategies as best as he could.

"No, I don't wish to be recognized," she replied and stopped in front of her cabin. "I won't be gone longer than a day."

"Aye ma'am, Good hunting." he saluted her and made his way back to the bridge.

"Thanks Captain." she replied and stepped into her room.

If there was one thing the denizens of Omega understood: If someone wore armor that was more than what you made in four years you leave them alone. Her armor was a part of that rule especially with helmet. She knew better than to show her face in the back water hive. Instead she wore menacing black armor whose plating was trimmed in electric red. In this armor she was a mercenary, bounty hunter but she left the aggression barely checked. If anyone stared at her too much they would barely see the break in her role.

Hemmins knew to have the ship docked close to Afterlife, a club on Omega where most of her intel came from. She left them with vague instructions and made her way from the dock and through the crowd. The bouncers at the door let her pass and she studied the thrumming, smoky room for any clue that would take her to her target. On the left side of the room, near the back, was a batarian, standing as if on guard in front of a private room. She headed over to the batarian.

"Heard you're hiring," she replied curtly.

The batarian studied her for a moment and nodded. "Hm. Go inside." he gestured to the descending stairs that led into the private room.

She walked down and the doors opened to show her the darkened room with a batarian, in Blue Sun armor, in front of a console. He grinned at her as she came towards him.

"Aren't you sweet?" he replied. "Sorry honey the stripper auditions are in the next room.

She glared at him through the darkened view of her visor. "Cute." she unholstered her pistol and studied it lazily. "Mine's bigger, tough guy."

He flicked his gaze up and down her, studying her gear and weapons. "The fee is 500 credits once the job is done. You are responsible for for purchasing your own armor and weapon, not that you need to. No this does not make you an Eclipse, Blue Sun or Blood Pack. You are a freelancer. Period."

"Fine. Where do I need to go?" she asked curtly.

"Head outside to the transportation depot near the club. One of our boys will take you there."

"Fine." she replied and headed out of the private room.

The patrons of the Afterlife gave her a wide berth as she stalked through the club and into the long entrance way. Walking towards her, flanked by two humans with Cerberus insignias sewn onto their clothing was Commander Shepard. She didn't know whether to call out to greet him or ignore him all together. The Cerberus agents with him eyed her, determining whether the strange woman in black armor was a threat. She slipped passed the trio smoothly, neither giving way nor taking a direct approach.

Omega was in its constant state of bustle when she exited onto the nightclub's front steps. Quickly she jogged down the steps and turned passed the line of would-be club goers towards the depot where another batarian in Blue Sun armor waited.

"I'm on the mission." she replied tersely.

"I hope you're ready. Archangel's been annihilating you freelancers."

"Lets go."

"Get in." the driver thumped the car he was leaning against.

As they made their way through the winding spires and low buildings of Omega Bea took the time to think of contingency plans and exit strategies to get Garrus out alive. She probed the driver for information about what they were up against and what kind of equipment was involved. He answered quickly with few words but their meaning was clear: We expect you to not survive for very long.

The car landed in a tiny square with one end blocked off by a barricade. A Blue Sun merc was waiting for them.

"Finally, they send someone who looks like they can actually fight," he replied as she climbed out of the car. "Did they tell you what you're up against?"

"The recruiter was a little vague."

"They wouldn't get many hires if they knew the truth. Archangel's holed up in a building at the end of the boulevard over there. He's got a superior position and the only way over is an exposed bridge. It's a killing ground. But he's getting tired, making mistakes. We'll have him soon enough."

"You have a plan?"

"A small team is waiting to infiltrate his hideout. We just need to draw his fire so that we can have them move in."

Realization dawned on her. "That's where the freelancers come in."

"Exactly, you'll be on a distraction team. He directly over the bridge to keep him busy while the infiltration team sneaks up behind him."

"So we'll be cannon fodder. Suicide."

"Yes, but you look like you can handle it. Head up the boulevard and get to the third barricade. Talk to Sergeant Cathka. He'll tell you when to head in."

"Right." she replied with a nod and walked away from him. The only way through the boulevard was a building off to the left.

The first room held the yellow and black uniformed, Eclipse mercs. The Eclipse loved their tech and more than likely there would be mechs waiting to be used. It was easy to turn mechs on their owners and that would be an asset. She dawdled through the room as one salarian explained some of their plan to the rest of the mercs. They paid no attention to her. She was a freelancer and the batarian that greeted did say that freelancers were not living long.

In the adjacent room sat the deactivated mechs and she quickly hacked into their systems to turn them. They would attack whoever activated them or attacked them. Her helmet hid her grin and she darted across the main drag where peopled were getting shot and then back over again when she saw the gunship. A trio of mercs were standing in front of it, waiting for their turn.

"Where's Sergeant Cathka?" she asked gruffly and the merc closest to her jerked his thumb back to indicate the sparks of heated metal behind the gunship.

She brushed passed them and ducked under a wing to see a batarian in Blue sun armor. He straightened as came over and tapped his visor twice to lighten the tint. He studied her loadout.

"You must be the one Salkie mentioned."

"You waiting for me?" she asked.

"The infiltration team is about to give the signal. Archangel won't know what hit him." he replied smugly as he put down the portable welder he was using on the gunship. He replaced the welder with a cigarette and lit it. "Got any questions? This may be your last chance."

"What's the gunship for? Just in case the infiltration team fails?" she nodded her head over to the ship on question.

"Tarak flies it. Archangel beat her up but I'll have her up and running in no time."

The console behind him beeped. "Target in sight. Infiltration team is ready."

Cathka leaned closer and pressed the mic's button. "Check. Bravo team – go, go, go!"

On the other side of the gunship she heard the thudding of booted feet and gunfire as the other freelancers jumped the last barricade on to the bridge. Cathka looked over at her with a grin.

"Archangel's got quite a surprise coming for him." he put down his cigarette and turned away. "But that means no more waiting for me. I've got bigger problems."

He tapped his visor to darken the tint and Bea noticed that he forgot the welder on the station. The gunship needed to be neutralized or else she had Garrus were going to be slaughtered if she used the heavy weapon on her back for something else and there were only two shots in it. Quickly she picked up the welder and aimed it at the thin area of his armor. The electricity coursed through his body and his vocal chords let out a drawn out yell. It was easy to slip out of the makeshift hangar without being seen.

She jumped the final barricade and unholstered her pistol and fired two rounds into the freelancer in front of her. He dropped to the ground as she aimed at another and fired a round into the back of his helmet. Their bodies were easy to move around and she slid behind a column to take down the members of the infiltration team and freelancers that were on the ground floor. A member of the infiltration team stood to see where his distractions were and caught a shot in the head. What she didn't see was the last freelancer hiding behind a bookshelf until he made a dash for the safety of the stairs.

"Fuck." she hissed and leaped over the half wall to take aim at him.

"She's with Archangel!" someone shouted and a shot went off.

The tiny pellet grazed her shielding as she sped after the merc. The freelancer turned to take cover and she shot him on the shoulder and as he spun from the force she hit him in the upper back and the inside of his thigh. He crashed to the floor alerting the last member of the infiltration. Like the other member she killed his forehead caught a bullet and he slumped against the locked door.

She came over to the door and slammed her fist against it. "Garrus! Let me in!" she shouted.

The holo-lock turned from red to green and it slid open. Bea looked over the side of the landings railing to see if she had been followed and stepped into the room when she saw it was clear. The turian in the blue and black armor across the room for her signaled her to hold whatever she was about to do or say to him. He took aim at some one on the bridge and she heard the harsh escaping of air as the merc died.

She grinned at him and holstered her weapon. "What the hell did you do, Garrus? Seduce their wives? Steal their girlfriends?"

"Something like that."

It was a light-hearted tease that usually worked in tense environments and hopefully it would work here. The turian climbed down from his make shift platform and took off his helmet. From where he was sitting he was protected from shots and he took advantage of it.

"Heard you were in a spot of trouble." she said. "Thought you might need some help. How did you get every major mercenary organization mad at you. I can't even do that."

"I really had to work hard at it. They must really hate me if they're working together." he replied with a hint of smirk.

"At least you picked a good sniper's nest." she came closer. "I overheard the Eclipse leader explaining the plan if the infiltration and freelancers failed. They'll be next."

"Jaroth."

"They have mechs but I managed to hack their IFF protocols. As long as we are up here they'll go after the mercs. I have no idea what the other two will do but they'll try and get in a back way or through the windows."

"I suggest we hold this position, wait for a crack in their defenses and take our chances." he replied. "It's not a perfect plan, but its a plan."

It was a plan that would work if they had more people and they didn't.

"Hemmins." she called over the comm.

"Ma'am?"

"My friend and I are in a bit of a situation. I need to be ready for a drop in pick up on my coordinates. A lot of hostiles including a gunship."

"Aye ma'am. Ready and waiting."

"Hopefully the Blue Suns' gunship won't be completely repaired by that time or we are dead." she smirked pulling off her repeating sniper rifle from her back. "Now lets spill some merc blood."

"I like the way you think." he replied with the turian equivalent of a smirk and took his position. "Looks like they figured out their infiltration team failed."

Bea looked through the scope of her sniper rifle at the Loki mechs coming towards them. She aimed her sights on the one closest to them and fired. It's head exploded on impact.

"The Lokis weren't affected by the hack, damnit." she hissed and fired again.

"Don't worry they're the easy part."Garrus reassured her as he brought down a mech.

They traded sniping for a while with Bea pulling off more shots with her faster repeater than his strong single shot. Kaidan had tried to teach her patience with snipers but found that his wife didn't like wasting time reloading and could get more kills with a faster rifle. There were a few times when Bea had to slide away to find more thermal clips.

"You're kicking ass, Spectre. They barely touched us."

"Lets hope it stays that way."

"You're going to have to go down and seal the shutters." Garrus said as the heavy mech was lowered. "The door leading to the basement is under the stairs."

"If I leave it'll be the end of you and that's not happening."she growled.

I'll be alright just give me your sniper rifle." he replied.

For a moment she almost argued against it but then her shoulders relaxed slightly and she tossed him her rifle. She turned and started for the door but stopped short and turned back to him.

"I'll close as many shutters as I can before they get close enough but if you feel overwhelmed tell me so I can call my crew. I mean it."

"Of course... Spectre." he replied and took his place overlooking the bridge.

Bea ran as quickly as she could in armor down the stairs and to the door. She had to slow down to catch her breath on the landing overlooking the first shutter. She grunted at the short distance and her fatigued body. The armor was great for protection but a bitch when it came to speed. From the far end of the corridor leading to the shutter she spied movement and ripped her assault rifle from its holster next to where her sniper rifle had been.

She fired a concussive shot and sprinted for the door. The speck fell back a few paces and as she neared the shutter she saw that it was a vorcha. Her fist smacked against the shutter's release and she crouched to reduce her size. Assault rifle ammo whizzed passed her and she returned fire aiming for the beings head. Vorcha had great regeneration speed and the only way to put them down was a head shot.

The hub in her helmet counted down the end of the closure sequence and she prayed that it was short enough to let her step away and head to the next shutter. Two more vorcha were heading her way when the shutter slammed shut and she immediately spun around and heading to the shutter signal to her left.

"Good job, Spectre!" Garrus called over her comm. "Just two more shutters and you're done."

Most of the Blood Pack were still running for the shutters as she slapped the release controls and fired a few rounds from her assault rifle into their groups. At the moment she wished for a biotic who could clear them out without expending her thermal clips.

"Get up here, Spectre!" Garrus shouted. "They're coming in through the back!"

"On my way!" she hissed and ran for as long as she could up the numerous stairs and hurdles to reach the ground floor.

Her chest was heaving as she climbed the last bit of stairs to the basement door. The sounds of assault rifles and a sniper rifle boomed through the metal door and she took a deep breath to steady herself. If she was getting up close and personal a shot gun would be ideal. It didn't hold a lot of ammo but the spread of pellets could incapacitate a lot of them before they reached Garrus.

She slipped around the back of the stairs and fired as the group of vorcha and a Krogan who looked way to familiar. The vorcha fell but quickly got back up and the the Krogan headed up the stairs. She ducked behind a couch before the vorcha could fire and her and switched the ammo mod to a flammable shot the would stop the vorchas' natural ability to regenerate.

"Garm's got me pinned!" Garrus shouted through her comm. "I need you up here!"

"Uno momento." she sang and pulled off a couple of shots before ducking down again.

"I'll kill you Archangel!" a krogan's voice yelled and then he roared.

"Fuck." she hissed in annoyance as the vorcha fired into the couch she was hiding behind.

She roared and stood, emptying her what was left of her thermals capacity into the few vorcha that was left. They skin burned as the pellets made contact and burst into flames. She let them burn as she raced up the stairs popping thermal clips as she went. The Krogan was charging at Garrus over and over not giving him a chance to gain a footing and fire. She flanked to his left and then slammed into him, causing him to lose balance and bumping against the railing. She brought up her shot gun and fired at close range, watching her ammo burn into his armor. Garrus popped a couple shots into the Krogan's massive head and Bea slammed into him again. He tipped over the side and with a shout he fell and landed on the hard floor beneath them.

Bea turned to Garrus. "You okay?

The turian nodded. "Garm was one mean son-of-a-bitch."

"That takes care of the Blood Pack so that only leaves the Blue Suns." she replied and palmed her comm. "Hemmins come and get us for pick up."

"Aye, ma'am."

A spot of light blasted through the openings were they had sniped the Eclipsed and as Bea turned to see what it was she ducked behind an end table. Garrus was not as fast as she was and when he turned to see the gunship it fired at him.

"Archangel!" a batarian's voice shouted over the ship's loudspeaker. "You think you can screw with the Blue Suns?"

Garrus crawled over to the closest spot of cover. He slowly looked over the cover as the gunship lowered to aim its grenade launcher.

"That must be Tarak!" Bea shouted as the grenade fired into the room. She reached behind her with her right hand and switched her shot gun with the wicked looking heavy weapon held to the middle of her back. It matched her armor and the singularity it unleashed could take down a gunship. She had done that before.

"This ends now!"

"Stay down!" she shouted and stood as the smoke cleared. The weapon took a few minutes to warm up and the ship was already gone by the time she fired it. "Fuck this shit!"

She followed the sound of the ship's engine to the window on the end of the floor and squeezed the trigger. The singularity took exactly five seconds to burst from her weapon and it hit the ship dead center. The black and gold energy enveloped the ship and as it contracted the hull and wings compressed into each other. There was a moment of silence and she ducked back down as a wave of energy crashed through the room.

With the loud boom of the rapid expansion of energy from the ship's destruction they didn't hear the thudding of booted feet coming through the ground floor until Bea hear the shouting of a voice she had heard on over two years. She slipped over to Garrus and nudged him.

"Don't let them see me." she hissed and jumped over the couch. "Go!"

She didn't know if the turian would do as she asked and hid behind one of the bunks on the inside wall.

"Garrus!" Shepard's voice sounded relieved and happy at the unexpected reunion.

"You look good Shepard, for being dead." Garrus replied. "I've had a rough day, lets get out of here."

"Alright." Shepard didn't sound convinced but the hiss and beep of a closing door signaled that they had left.

Bea let out whatever breath she had been holding and slumped against the wall. Saving Garrus had nearly cost her but knowing that he was with Shepard gave her hope. If Shepard had Garrus around then maybe he wouldn't be blind-sided by Cerberus propaganda.

"ETA three minutes ma'am." _The Raven_'s engineer, Davids, replied over her comm.

"Roger that, Davids." she replied and let her body sag against the wall to let the adrenaline leave her system.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for reading folks!

* * *

Bea watched the chrono in the visor of her helmet as she sat slumped on the couch that hadn't been shot to shit from the standoff with Garrus. The bodies of the mercs that they had killed littered the building's walls and floors and she didn't care. All she wanted to do was get off the station and head back to Klencory. Her crew was not that far away and no one was stupid enough to come into a killing zone even if the mercs were dead.

But it wasn't over. Freedom's Progress had been hit before they could react with a counter measure some of the fine STG teams cooked up from samples that their investigators collected. She was confirming that Shepard was alive and working for Cerberus or with Cerberus. That was he mission on Omega and now she had confirmation.

The high, wispy whine of a car quickly coming closer and she watched the car carrying two, or three, of her crew land on the bridge. She stood and walked out of the building, moving absently around the bodies to get to her getaway car. The roof hatch opened along with the side door and Davids stepped out. He gave out a low whistle at the amount of carnage in the area.

His eyes locked onto her helmet and nodded. "What now?"

"We get the fuck out of here before more show up." she replied climbing into the front passenger seat. "Head back to the ship. We need to go to the Citadel."

Davids slid into the empty seat behind her and the doors lowered back into their closed positions. Their driver was deft at handling the car around the winding airways of Omega. Ten minutes later they were back where she had started. The docking bay that held their ship was behind the depot and she made a quick scan of the area for Shepard or Garrus before turning away from the club's front entrance and through the doors to her ship.

The winding corridors that led to her ship were lined with trash, sentient and not, the harsh lights from the signs from the buildings giving the station a grimy desperate and sinister air. Though she was not as tall as her crew her weapons and armor made it clear she was not to be bothered with. It was such a juxtaposition from what her heart was telling her. She was not forged for fighting, she was not hard steel and piercing energy.

Their ship was gone from the system long before the report of her success could make it to their Councilor.

* * *

C-Sec academy was not the same as it was two years ago. More security and even she needed to check in her weapons before entering the Presidium. The message at her personal terminal upon entering the hazy purple nebula surrounding the Citadel left her no chance to head to her apartment. The Council had contacted Commander Shepard and she was not far behind him. Her plan was working, she could get Shepard back under Citadel authority and keep Cerberus close enough to keep the Illusive Man in check.

The receptionist at the front desk of the Embassy greeted her with a smile. "Councilor Anderson asked that you go in right now."

"Thank you," she gave the young asari a polite smile and headed up the stairs and into the Embassy's offices.

The Alliance Embassy was the closest to the entrance and she didn't wait for an announcement to enter.

Anderson stood before the holograms of his fellows Councilor's with Shepard beside him. In her periphery she caught Garrus and a Salarian off to the right by Anderson's desk. Garrus nodded at her while the Salarian studied her. Anderson turned to where he heard the door open.

"Dr. Alenko, glad of you to join us." he replied.

Shepard frowned at her or maybe at her surname. He didn't get the memo concerning her marriage, he was dead and no one told him. She stepped into the view of the rest of the Council.

"I came as soon as I could." she replied evenly. "Shepard."

"Alenko." he said and turned back to the Council. "The Collectors are working for the Reapers and Cerberus are the only ones that are doing anything about it."

"The human colonies are not under our jurisdiction. They knew this when they left Council Space."

"Cerberus _aren't_ the only ones doing something about it." Bea replied. "The Alliance has been sending ships into the Traverse trying to find the Collectors' ships and we have an outreach program dealing with setting up defense towers and relays. Gunnery Chief Williams is heading the project."

"Dr. Alenko is correct." the Salarian Councilor said. "To force our help onto the colonies would anger them. We are in a delicate situation."

"The Collector's are working with the Reapers."

"We _know_ Commander," the Turian Council stressed. "We have been studying the remains of Sovereign for the past two years. Developing new weapons and shielding against their attacks if they should happen to get into Council Space."

"And until then? Are you just going let human colonies disappear?"

"The Council's hands are tied legally. They can't force the colonists to leave their homes and the colonies won't let us annex them so that we _can_ protect them. We don't have the ship numbers to pull off a major defense without leaving other areas weakened to pirates and slavers."

Bea crossed her arms over her chest and thought for a moment. "Councilors, have you reinstated Shepard's Spectre status?"

"No, he is working with Cerberus, an avowed enemy of the Council, by right he should be tried for treason." the Asari Council answered.

"That's too far!" snapped Anderson. "Shepard is a damned hero."

"What are your thoughts regarding Cerberus?" Bea asked Shepard quickly.

"Shepard frowned. "They rebuilt me but they are terrorists and pro-human to a fault. The only reason I'm with them is because of the Collectors and my crew. I do not support them."

"But you can trust the crew."

"Since it is a human matter we shall let you handle this as you see fit, Anderson." the Turian Councilor replied and the other two Councilors nodded their approval.

"Thank you." he replied and the holos flashed off leaving them alone.

"I'm reinstating your status as Spectre, Commander." he turned to Bea. "You have been far deeper into the Reapers problem than anyone, Alenko. If the Collectors _are_ working with the Reapers then Shepard is going to need your help. Don't let me down."

Shepard grinned and offered his hand to her. She shook it happily. "It wouldn't feel like the _Normandy_ without an Alenko on board."

Garrus came over and thumped her on the back. "Good to have you aboard, Spectre."

The Salarian came over and Bea smiled at him. "Mordin Solus. Good to meet you Dr. Alenko."

"Ah, yes Dr. Solus." she offered her hand and he shook it. "One of the leads on Klencory worked with you on one of your missions. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Bea grinned back and took the handshake. "Alright then, there is a lot you need to be caught up on on what we've learned from the other attacks."

"Before you two go off to play hero," Anderson interrupted. "You should go do to the labs in C-Sec and get the countermeasures that the Salarians cooked up after the attack on Liberty Point."

You have already manufactured a countermeasure?" Mordin's quick speech made Bea smirk. "I would like to analyze this at the lab."

"Sure." Bea replied. "I'll let Hemmins know I won't be returning with him to Klencory and grab my gear."

"Garrus go ahead and escort the Doc to the C-Sec labs. I'll take Alenko to her ship."

"Sure thing Commander." the turian replied and the two aliens walked out of the office.

"Lets go," Bea replied. "The sooner we get gone the sooner we can get to the Collectors."

"Right." Shepard agreed.

Only Hemmins was aboard _The Raven_ when Bea and Shepard came aboard to retrieve her gear. He eyed the resurrected Spectre but said nothing as Bea went into her cabin to grab her hard case and a duffel bag. Quickly she typed up a note for him on a datapad and left it on her desk.

"So you work for Kumun Shol too?" she heard Shepard ask. He sounded as if he disliked the silence and was trying to pass the time with her gruff captain.

"No, we crew work for Dr. Alenko's family." Hemmins answered proudly. "We were the ship that took her to Ilos _and_ we stayed in the system to spy on the geth when they tried to use the Conduit."

Bea beamed at his proclamation and rounded the corner as if she had just left her quarters. Shepard smiled. "You have a good crew, Alenko."

"Every time you say Alenko I'm going to think you're talking to Kaidan." she replied with a smile. "Bea, please."

"Alright, _Bea_." he stressed her name to accept the name. "Then don't call me Shepard. My name is Richard."

"You take care of my boss, you hear?" Hemmins growled. "Can't have her husband comin' after me if something happens."

"We'll be fine, Hemmins." she chuckled and gave him a farewell hug. "See you soon. Give the crew my best."

"Aye, ma'am." he nodded as he stepped away from her.

"Come on." she replied with a pat on Shepard's shoulder.

The airlock hissed behind them as they exited the ship. The light from the sun in the center of the nebula casting a lavender hue to their armor as they walked down the dock to the ward on the other side of the large metal doors.

"So... you and Alenko. Married." Shepard started and left it to hang in the air.

Bea looked over at him with a smirk. "Yes, Kaidan and I. Married."

"Must have been hell of a party." he replied as they came over to the depot to hail a cab.

"Oh, yes, it was. The Alenkos can party with the best of them." she chuckled at the memory. "So how is this going to work? Are you going to take Anderson's advice or are you going to stick in the a corner? Just let me know so that I can grab a few e-novels."

Shepard was horrified. "Are you kidding and depend on the two Cerberus Operatives that are tagging along with me? Fuck that. You and I are going to be going over every piece of data together to make sure nothing gets past us. I want the Illusive Man to know exactly where I stand with his organization. That means that you are my go to guy instead of Miranda Lawson."

Bea shook her head. "Use her as a resource and trust her to a point. I've read files on her for a mission just after you died. She's smart, genetically enhanced to be perfect, she would be a very good Spectre if she wasn't brainwashed by Cerberus. Who else did they leave you with?"

"Jacob Taylor. Said he was ex-Alliance, saved the Council from Batarians?"

"I remember that," Bea sighed. "Should've done better by him, something more that just a simple thank you. Miranda and Jacob both stopped the Batarians. The Council wasn't at its greatest then. Hmph, sometimes I don't think it's ever at it's greatest."

"Yet you're still a Spectre."

"I am proud to be a Spectre and so should you," she replied tartly. "Being a Spectre isn't glamorous, Richard. You are given an objective and told to do it, anyway you see fit as long as the public isn't harmed. I was mentored by an asari who had been a Spectre for 400 yrs. She taught me a lot and I'm glad to do what I do. By the way: Keep all receipts for whatever you purchase for your mission. The Council reimburses you."

Shepard smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. Are you _my _mentor?"

"Only if you need it Shepard." she focused her attention to the depot that the car was landing on. "Zakera Ward? Captain Bailey's prescient."

The car sat down at the depot and the two Spectres exited the vehicle. "We've met." he nodded over to the cafe. "I need to purchase some extra food stuffs for the crew. Our Mess Sergeant requested something special since our mission is dangerous."

"Sure thing. Keep the receipt." she quipped and her partner chuckled at her remark.

He was in there for a few minutes and came out of the cafe with a satisfied grin. "Delivery in ten minutes."

"Sounds good. Lets go." she replied nodding over to the C-Sec building where they could access the docking bay.

The new _Normandy_ was shinier than the last frigate by the same name and the inside was brighter too. More people were at their stations pressing orange holo screens, not turning in their seats to see who their Commander had brought on board. Joker was the first to notice their new teammate. He didn't get up but he did grin at her.

"Hey Doc!" he greeted as she came over with Shepard following behind. "I got back my baby! Ain't she beautiful?"

The handicapped pilot was happiest at the helm of a ship. He had been a boon to her and he was playing like she had not put him as a mole in Cerberus. She smiled down at him like a proud mother admiring her child's new toy.

"She is beautiful, Joker." she replied. "How've you been?"

"Can't complain." he shifted his gaze to Shepard. "The doc here hired me on for a couple of assignments when she was doing Spectre stuff."

"Come on I'll show you the rest of the ship." Shepard gently took Bea's arm and guided her away from the pilot.

"See ya Commander." Joker replied and swung his chair back around to his console.

Shepard let go of her arm as they walked down the rows of crewmen at their consoles. They rounded the galaxy map to where a young red head stood reading from a console. She turned to face her commanding officer as he brought Bea over.

"Commander," she greeted with a short nod of the head. The young woman studied Bea for a moment.

"Bea this is Yeoman Chambers my personal assistant and the ship's unofficial counselor." he introduced. "Kelly this is Beatrice Alenko, she'll be joining us for this mission."

Bea smiled and offered the younger woman her hand. "It's nice to meet you Miss Chambers."

"And you ma'am." the young woman was as impressed with the legend of Dr. Alenko as she was with Commander Shepard's legend. "I am honored to have you aboard ma'am. What you did for the Council and on Elysium was inspiring."

Bea felt her cheeks flush a little and she fought to control it. She wasn't big on tooting her own horn. "Thank you, Miss Chambers I am glad to be aboard."

"Operative Lawson and Operative are in the briefing room." Chambers said to Shepard.

"Thank you, Kelly." he replied and gestured for Bea to follow him through a door to their left.

The duo passed through a couple of doors into the tech lab where there was a console for research an upgrades and Dr. Solus. The salarian was hunched over a terminal with a high powered microscope to his left. He did not look up from his work so the two took the the door to the left to the comm/briefing room. The two Cerberus operatives were waiting for them and looked as if they had been in a heated discussion until their Commander and his fellow Spectre came in.

Jacob stood at attention and saluted, Bea couldn't tell who he was saluting and she didn't want to show that she cared. Miranda, as beautiful as she was couldn't not hide her irritation.

Dr. Alenko," Jacob greeted. "It is an honor to meet you. If there is anyone who can help us defeat the Collectors and the Reapers its you."

"Thank you Mr. Taylor." she replied with a smile.

"The Council reinstated you as a Spectre?" Miranda asked expectantly.

"Yes, and in a show of support Dr. Alenko has volunteered to help." Shepard gave the woman a warning look.

Miranda looked like she was going to argue about her being on the ship but turning a Spectre away would further discredit Cerberus in the Council's eyes. The woman was a hero to most of humanity and she had kept herself well away from Cerberus on Klencory. Since her joining of the team there Cerberus had been kept in the dark by the extreme security awarded to the planet because of Dr. Alenko's Spectre Status.

"Where shall we put you?"

"A room with a view and close to the women's lavatory will be fine." she replied with a shrug.

A blue holographic sphere popped up in front of her."The starboard observation room sounds appropriate."

Bea's eyebrows climbed up her forehead and she turned to Shepard to explain.

"Bea this is EDI. She's the ship's AI." he looked over to Jacob and Miranda. "Dismissed."

Jacob saluted again and walked passed Shepard as Miranda gave Bea a disapproving glance and stalked out of the room. Once they were gone Bea activated her omni-tool and pressed in a command. A small holo of the comm room appeared and twenty dots of red appeared. She pressed another command into her interface and the red disappeared.

"Your ship is positively littered with listening and tracking devices." she tsked. She grinned. "I don't think Ms. Lawson likes me." she replied in a sing-song voice. "Almost like I was going to steal her boyfriend."

"She spent two year bringing me back but she is fairly stuck up. The less I talk about her the better off we'll be." Shepard leaned against the wood counter top that lined the holographic image of the _Normandy_. "I have to ask about Ash."

Bea looked down at her hands, splayed on the cool wooden surface. "She took your loss really hard. Really hard. Still don't think she's completely over you which will work for you if you tread carefully. She crashed at my apartment on the Citadel for about a month, eating chocolate, praying, grieving, reading loads of Tennyson." she stared at him for a few quiet moments. "Two years makes no difference to you in your feelings, does it?"

"Seems like only a few days ago." He looked down at his feet. "This might be a suicide mission. We might never come back from this."

Bea snorted. "So convinced of that are you? Going to give into that, are we?"

"No, but it would be stupid to think of it any other way."

Well, I plan on coming back in one piece, Richard. I have a son and a husband and I refuse to leave them this early in the game. You should think like that too if you really want to be with Ash. She's my friend and I don't want her hurt. We can always to to Horizon and see her? She would probably want to see you alive."

Shepard scratched the back of his neck. "You can always make up a story about where I was."

"No, you can't lie to her about this, she doesn't like Cerberus too much but lying to her about you being dead is not the way to go."

Shepard sighed and nodded. "I'll plot a course to Horizon, I need to get my feelings settled before I can deal with this mission."

Bea gave him a reassuring smile."Good idea, Richard." she straightened and grabbed her gear. "I shall be in the starboard observation room should you need me. I have loads of paperwork to deal with."

"Thank you, Bea." he replied as she walked out the door.

He didn't see the smile on her face as she left. Things were going to go right on this mission and the Reapers were not going to win.


End file.
